Process for making wheels



R. R. GRIFFITH.

PROCESS FOR MAKING WHEELS. APPLICATION FILED JUNE 13, 1921.

1,435,388, Patented Nov. 14, 1922.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

fic '2 E's-6T INVENTO/Pq RR. GRIFFITH. BY 71 M R. R. GRIFFITH.

PROCESS FOR MAKING WHEELS.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE I3, 1921.

Patented Nov. 14, 1922.

2 SHEETS-SHE?! 2.

Fig *6 3 3e F 5 INVENTOR' l M BER GfF/FF/Th'.

Fatented P le-v. 14, 3922.

are rear oration.

RALPH R. GRIFFITH, or MINNEAPOLIS; MINNESOTA.

Pnoonssron MAKineWHEELs 1 I hppli cation filed June 13, 1921. Serial no. 477,059.

2 '0. all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, RALPH R! GRIFFIT citizen of the. United States, residing at ti'cularly pointed out in the claims.

Minneapolis, in the" county of Hennepin and State of Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Pf fo'cesses forMaking Wheels, of which'the following is a specification.

My invention relates to processes ofmaking wheels from sheet metal. An object is to provide a process of making wheels by, cuttin from sheet metal' one of'the wheelv members with integrallyattached spoke elements, the saidwheel member and spoke elements being then shaped and bent from their sheet form into the position which they .ocf

cupy in the finished wheel. g y p The full objects and advantagesof my in vention will appear in connection with the detailed description, and the novel features embodied in my inventive idea will hepar- In the accompanying drawing which illus sti-ate two forms in which my process may be carried out, Fig. l is a fragmentary plan view of a piece of sheet metal from which a hub and integrally attached spoke elements may be cut out. Fig. 2 is a plan view showing the hub member and the integrally attached spoke elements after cutting them from the sheet metal. view taken lengthwlse through the hub after the hub member has been rolled up into thecylindrical form and the spoke elements have been positioned by bending them back through a little more than 90. Fig. 4c is a sectional view through the wheel after it has been completed by the addition of a rim and a pair of annular .reinforcin members. Fig. 5 is a side elevational view of the finished wheel, a small portion of the same being of annular reinforcing members.

broken away. Fig. 6 is a fragmentary plan view of a piece of sheet metal showing in dotted lines the manner in whicha series of rim members and integrally attached spoke elements are cut out. Fig. 7 is a plan view showing the rim member and integrally attached spoke elements after cuttin them from the sheet metal. Fig. 8 is a sectional view through the structure produced by rolling up the rim member into ring form and b bending the spoke elements back through a little more than 90. Fig. 9 is a sectional view through the wheel after it has been completed by the addition of a hub and a pair Fig. 3 is a sectional Referring first to the form shown in Figs. 1 to 4,'the numeral 10 designates a blank of sheet metal from which the structure shown in Fig. 2 iscut, This structure includes a hub member 12 having a plurality of integrallyattached spoke elements 14: extending from one endland a plurality ofintegrally attached spoke elements 16 extending from the opposite end. These spoke elements are cut, from each other, on lines such as indicatedat 18 but are left attached at their bases to the: member. (The spoke elements 14 and l6 re spectively are offset, with relation to each other on account of the fact that the cuts 18 on one endare midway between the cuts 18 fonthe other end. fnforder, to compensatetfor this staggere'doroifset arrangement, the sidemargins 20 and 22. of the hub member are cut on inclined lines which. are located slightlybeyOnd thebases ofthe adja'cent spoke 'elements, thislatter arrange mentflbeingin order that sufficient over-1ap may bel'pro'vided for securing the margins together. It will be understood, therefore, tha'tafter' the 'struc'ture sliown "in Fig. 2 has been provided, the hub member l2' is rolled up into cylindrical form with the mar ginsQO and 22 slightly overlapped in order that they maybe secured together as by spotwelding. The spoke elements at both ends of the hub member are bent back having inturned flanges 30 is added by secur ing these flanges to the ends ofthe spoke elements in suitable manner as by 'spotwelding. The spoke elements are preferably reinforced by securing in suitable manner as by spotwelding a pair of angle bars 32 on opposite sides at the places where the spokes cross from one side of the wheel to the other. The Wheel when finished has the appearance shown in Fig. 5.

In the form shown in Figs. 6 to 9, the

spoke elements instead of being out out integrally with the hub member are cut out integrally with the rim member. The nu.

meral 34 designates a blank of sheet; metal, from which the structure shown in-F1g-.- 7"

is cut out. The manner in which this structure can be cut out to sayenaaterialis shmrv in Fig 6. This structure includes a rim member 36 having a pluralityo t integrally attached spoke elements 38 extending from one side and a plurality of integrally attached spoke elements 4L0 extending from the opposite side. The elements 38 and 40v are arranged in staggered relation With respect to each otherf After thestructure shown-Vin Fig. Thasbeen provided, the rim me mb er 3 6 is rolled up into ring form and the ends thereof secured together in" suitablemanner as by spotweldlng. The spoke elementson both sides otthe rim member are b ent b ackj througha little more than 9O as shown 1n Fig. 8 to give them the cross relation shown.

This bending is preferably on the dotted lines 42 shown in Fig. instead ofon lines directly at the bases of thespolre elements, h s ann of n g Prov e nw rd y extending flanges 44 around'hoth sides of the rim. The shaping of the riin'into ring form and the bending bacli of 'the spoke elements ma be. )erformed in an suitable manner as, by the use of shaping dies. After the spokes have beengiven the cross relation shown in Fig. 8, a hub LG of the proper length and out-tur ed fianges l8 is added by securing the flangesfl8 to the inner ends or the spoke elements in suitable man;

asse ses neras by; spctwelding. The spoke elements arepreferably remforced by securing a pair of'annular members 50 thereto on opposite sides Where. the spokesecross from one side of the Wheel to the other. The Wheel When finished-has-the-same appearance as the form previously described and referred to in Fig.

5 in its finishedcondition.

The advantages of myprocessare obvious.

Inents, shaping th e cutout structure into the form which it occupies in thefinislied Wheel.

by ben ding said WhGQLIUQlIlbQI' into circular formandby heaid ng sa dspoke elements bael rwa rdly through mQre thanZQO to cause i p ke elementslte cr s f om nes of the Wheel to the other, secur ng re nforc ng annular memb ers to sa dj spoke elements e e ey h s cros a d the i ecur ng e other ,Wheel member 1 to the free ends of said p ke el men s In testimonywhereof I v hereunto afiix my nat re. 

